Ventilator for automobile-bodies.



L. K. SNELL.

VENTILATOH FOR AUTOMOBILE BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, l9l5- 7. 3 WU 6 Mn WITNESSES:

V 8 y y m n 0 W R W M K. SNELL. I

VENTILATOR FOR AUTOMOBILE BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27,1915- n. 6 V. w, W M MM m a U) B LYLE K. SNELL, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO CADILLAC MOTOR CAR COIM- PAITY, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

VENTILATOR FOB AUTOMOBILE-BODIES.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

Application filed February 27, 1915. Serial No. 10,837.

To all whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, L LE K. SNELL, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Ventilator for Automobile-Bodies, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ventilators for the front ends of automobile bodies, and its object is to provide means for causing currents of air to pass around the feet of persons riding on the front seats.

This invention may be carried out by forming the rail of the vehicle just below the wind-shield with one or more openings, the metal that is cut away to form each opening being bent back so as to constitute deflectors or louvers, other deflectors being mounted below the o enings and extending forwardly to deflect orwardly the airthat enters through said openings, Or it may be carried out by substituting a fuel tank for the lower deflector- It may also be carried out by omitting the louver formed-by cutting free a portion of the material constituting the rail and depending upon the windshieldto deflect the air into the openings in the rail and also by securing a separate deflector to the rail itself. In'the accompanying drawings, Figure is a longitudinal section of a portion of the body of. an automobile, the hood being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a detail of the same on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a plan of a ventilator opening. Fig. 4 is a perspective of a-portion of a rail-and a deflector. .Figs.

' 5, 6 and 7 are sections similar to Fig. 1 of modified forms'of this invention.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The vehicle 'shown in Fig. 1 embodies a floor 1, foot board 2, side door 3 in the side 4, dash 5, hood 6, cowl 7, rail 8, instrument board 9, sidesupports 10 for the wind-shield 12 andtop 13 of any desired construction.

The rail8 between the instrument board 9 and cowl 7 is formed with any desired number of longitudinal slits of any desired length, and the metal atone side of theslits is bumped up and forced back to form the louvers 15, the height being such as to just avold engaging the lower edge of the windshield when swung back. On the rail may be secured the usual rubber dam 16 whose upper edge may contact with the lower edge constitute a continuous ventilator.

The plates 17 may be secured at their rear edges to the instrument board ,and be so disposed as to guide forwardly the air that passes in'through the openings. 18

formed by bending up the louvers 15, the preferred shape in plan of these plates be ing indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The air that enters flows in the direction indicated'by the arrows in Fig.1, drives out the hot air that would normally accumulate beneath the cowl just back of the dash and hood. The feet of thepersons on the front seat of a motor vehicle are usually surrounded by warm air, a condition absolutely avoidedv by the construction illustrated in the drawings. If the ventilator openings are at the endsjof the rail, they can beso proportionedthat suflicient .air can pass between them to ventilate the space just above ,and to the rear of the instrument board.

When the lower edge of the wind-shield 12 contacts with the upper edge of the dam 16, neither wind nor rain can pass through between them or pass down through the openings 17. It has been found that in many cases, air rushes betweenthe wind-v shield and rail anddown over the instrument board against the knees of those riding on the front seat, chilling theupper portions of the legs while the feet are too hot. Usually, when the wind-shield is swung;

back sufliciently to deflect air downwardly into the body, the amount of air thus deflected and its speed is suflicient to disar 96 rangethe clothing of women riding on the front seat, but by deflecting the air by means of the present invention, this inconvenience is eliminated.

Referring now to Fig. 5, it will be noticed 100 i the plate 17 all '60 that the cowl 7 rail 8', dam 16, and louver 15 are similar to those shown in Fig. 1, but that the instrument board 21 has an inclined extension 22, on which the rear edge of the fuel tank 23 may rest, the forward edge of the tank being mounted on a bracket 2% on the dash 5. This tank usually does not extend entirely, across the car and air may therefore pass around its ends. 4 But the greater proportion of the air will pass down across the tank to the dash and to the foot board, thus keeping cool the fuel tank and the feet of the passengers. In this construction, the top 0 the tank is a deflector.

In Fig, 6, the construction is similar to that of Fig. 1, with the single exception that the louvers 15 are omitted, the windshield being relied upon to deflect the current of air through the opening 26 in-the rail 8.

When the rail is so narrow that openings and louvers are not possible or desirable,

- the construction shown in Fig. 7 may be vent any great invention without departing from the spirit thereof,

I claim 1. A ventilator for the front ends of the bodies of motor vehicles provided with wind-shields suspended from horizontal axes comprising a downwardly and forwardly inclined plate just below the rear portion ofthe cowl and an upright plate at the rear edge of the inclined'plate, the upper edge thereof being rearwardly of a forward lower edge of the wind-shield.

2. A ventilator for the front ends of the bodies of motor vehicles, comprising the rear portion of the cowl, a-"rail at the rear end thereof, a windshield mounted on the body, a dam mounted on the rail, and plates extending below the cowl and up to the horizontal plane of the rail and back of the vertical plane of the rail, thus leaving an inlet opening into which air may be conducted by the wind-shield.

3. In combination, a vehicle body comprising a cowl, 2.541311! arranged adjacent the rear end thereof, a windshield mounted on the body with itslower edge rearwardly of said dam, said cowl having a port arranged therein rearwardly of said dam, and a downwardly and forwardly extending deflector plate arranged rearwardly of said port.

4. A ventilator for the front ends of the bodies of motor vehicles comprising louvers projecting upwardly from that portion of the body just below the wind-shield and extending parallel to the lower edge thereof, said body having a slot just in advance of said louvers, and a deflector extending downwardly and forwardly from the bottom of the louvers.

5. A ventilator for causing a current of air to flow to the 'front end of a motor ve hicle below the sheet-metal cowl thereof, formed by slitting the rail of the, cowl parallel to the wind-shield and bending up the metal atthe rear of the slit, a plate extending downwardly and rearwardly from said V v bent up portion of the cowl, and another plate connected at its rear edge to said first named plate and extending downwardly and forwardly below the cowl to deflect cur-' rents of air that enter through the-slit,'forwardly below the cowl.

6. In an automobile, the combination with the cowl, a horizontal rail extending transversely of the body of the automobile at the upper rear edge of the cowl, posts extendin upwardly at the ends of the rail, a wind-s ield horizontally pivoted between the posts, a rubber dam secured to the rail and adapted to contact with the lower edge of the wind-shield, said rail being formed with a longitudinal slot, an instrument board extending downwardly and rear-.

wardly from said-rail, a louver extending upwardly at the rear edge of the rail adjacent. "said slot. and a plate secured at its rear edge to said instrument board just below the slot and extending dpwnwardly and forwardly just below the cowl.

7. In combination, an automobile 'body, a windshield adjustably mounted on the body, and a downwardly and forwardly extending air conduit mounted and having its inlet opening rearwardly of the forward lowen edge of the windshield when in closed position, said windshield being adapted to control the flow of air through said conduit.

8,. In combination, an automobile body including a dash and cowl, a wind-shield mounted above the body to swing about a horizontal axis at its upper edge, and a conduit associated with the wind-shield and with the cowl of the body when the windshield is swung rearwardly to direct air downwardly and forwardly from the rear edge of the cowl:

9. In combination, a vehicle body, awindshield mounted thereon, a dam mounted on on the body said body forwardly of the lower edge, of said windshield, I, and a deflector plate 1 mounted rearwardly of said dam and spaced fication in the presence of two subscribing therefrom, to form an an condu1t therewitnesses.

between whereby movement of said Windi LYLE K. SNELL. shield toward or from said dam controls Witnesses: 5 the flow of air through said conduit. L. M. SPENCER,

In testimony whereof I sign this speci- HUGO W. KRE'INBRING. 

